Police swoop to detain swan

A rogue swan which began causing havoc on the A46 at the weekend was apprehended by the police on Sunday.

In scenes reminiscent of the movie Hot Fuzz, the bird was returned to the Riverside by officers in the back of a police van, with a little help from passing motorists and Cyril Bennis from Stratford Swan Rescue.

Cyril said: “I got the call from the control room that the swan was causing chaos on the A46 so they came and picked me up and we went up to try and catch it. Luckily there were some quick thinking motorists up there that managed to usher it off the road.

“It was a feisty bird and it was certainly resisting arrest but I managed to get hold of it and we put it in the van, it has a cage in the back that the police usually use in different circumstances, but it proved quite useful on this occasion. Once we arrested him he seemed quite happy to sit in the back.

“It was a hilarious scene when we pulled up on the Riverside outside the Dirty Duck and let it out the back of the van, it think it surprised a few people.”

Cyril added that it had been a good team effort rescuing the bird, which has now promised to keep its beak out of trouble.